The Tea Party’s Infatuation with Ted Cruz Proves What Ignorant Hypocrites They Truly Are

When it comes to many antics from the Republican party, I often find myself uttering the phrase, “You just can’t make this up.” This is often in response to some situation or comment being pushed by Republicans that often reeks of total irony or absolute hypocrisy.

Let’s go back to 2008 when President Obama was just a presidential candidate. It was at that time “birthers” began to emerge, claiming he had no right to be President of the United States. As we all know, these people ranted on continuously about his “fake” birth certificates, “fake” birth announcements and their claim that he was ineligible to run for president because the “overwhelming facts” proved that he was indeed born in Kenya.

All of this, of course, was absurd. To believe that President Obama somehow had the power to fake birth certificates, birth announcements and fool every federal agency we have that can verify someone’s eligibility to become president is so laughable I was actually a bit surprised the “movement” became as popular as it was—and honestly still is.

Well, not surprised as much as I just can’t grasp that level of stupidity. And sadly, there is still a good portion of the Republican party (mainly tea party Republicans) who believe President Obama isn’t eligible to be president.

But for the sake of argument, let’s assume President Obama was born in Kenya to a Kenyan father. His mother is still an American citizen which makes him a “natural born” American by right—and eligible to be president.

Now enter Ted Cruz. Someone who was undoubtedly born in Canada, to a father that isn’t an American, but whose mother is.

Only, as it stands now, Ted Cruz is a front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination. Not only that, but he’s also extremely popular with tea party Republicans.

So, many of the same people who to this day still don’t believe President Obama has a right to be president, are the biggest cheerleaders of a man they want to run for president—whose citizenship would be granted by the exact situation which they claim makes President Obama ineligible.

It’s like when, after years and years of campaigning against “Obamacare, ” Republicans chose the one candidate for president who actually signed into law almost the exact same healthcare law while he was governor of Massachusetts. In fact, “Obamacare” is more or less an identical healthcare law.

The best comedy writers couldn’t come up with a better joke.

“After years of saying Barack Obama was born in Kenya, therefore ineligible to be president, tea party Republicans turn to Ted Cruz—a man who was born in Canada.”

Oh, and as an added kicker, Cruz’s father is an immigrant from a socialist country.

Which isn’t a big deal to those of us who use logic, of course. But hell, if Obama having a father who was Muslim somehow makes him a Muslim, imagine if he had a father that came from a socialist country?

Well, Cruz does.

It’s just irony you couldn’t make up if you tried.

Tea party Republicans, who have attacked President Obama for years and accused him of not being born in the United States — now want a man who was born in Canada to run for president.

Allen Clifton is a native Texan who now lives in the Austin area. He has a degree in Political Science from Sam Houston State University. Allen is a co-founder of Forward Progressives and creator of the popular Right Off A Cliff column and Facebook page. Be sure to follow Allen on Twitter and Facebook, and subscribe to his channel on YouTube as well.